Student Loans

Educational loans provide an excellent source of financial assistance needed to meet the expenses of your Benedictine College education. Benedictine provides several different loan options for you. The primary resource for students is the Federal Loan programs. We do recommend the private (alternative) loan program when additional funds are needed. Listed below are the programs that we provide:

KANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL'S STUDENT LOAN CODE OF CONDUCT

Preferred Lender Guidelines - Preferred or suggested lender lists used by colleges will be based solely on the best interests of students and parents who may use the list and without regard to the financial interests of the college.

Lender Disclosures - All preferred or suggested lender lists maintained by a college will clearly and fully disclose the criteria and process used to select the lenders included on such lists. Students and parents will also be told that they have the right and ability to select a lender of their choice, regardless of whether such lender appears on a school's lender list.

Revenue Sharing - Colleges will not accept anything of value from any lender in exchange for any advantage sought by the lender. Lenders will not be required or allowed to pay to be placed on a school's preferred lender list.

Gifts and Trips - College employees will not accept anything of more than nominal value from any lender. This includes gifts or trips of any kind.

Advisory Board Membership - College employees will receive no compensation or anything of value for serving on the advisory board of any lender.

Lender Identification - No employee of any lender may work in or provide staffing in a college financial aid office. In addition, colleges shall direct employees of lenders to clearly identify themselves as employees of the lender and to never identify themselves as college employees when meeting or speaking with students or parents.

ENTRANCE / EXIT LOAN COUNSELING

Entrance counseling must be completed before a student can receive a disbursement of Perkins or Stafford loan funds. Benedictine College students may fulfill this federal requirement by clicking on www.StudentLoans.gov.

Entrance counseling is designed to ensure that a potential borrower is educated and informed of loan processes, eligibility, and responsibility.

If you have only a Stafford loan complete the Stafford loan entrance counseling.

If you have only a Perkins loan complete the Perkins loan entrance counseling.

If you have both types of loans a combined entrance counseling option is available.

If you are enrolling as a graduate student and have never had loans at BC previously, complete the GradPlus entrance counseling.

Exit counseling must be completed when a student who has received Stafford, or Grad Plus loans either graduates, or leaves Benedictine College permanently. Benedictine College students may fulfill this federal requirement by clicking on www.nslds.ed.gov. Consult the Financial Aid Office to determine what types of loans you have had in order to know which exit counseling selection to make. Exit Counseling for Perkins loan recipients must be completed with the Business Office at Benedictine College in person.

After you have completed your on-line Exit Counseling, make an appointment to meet with the Benedictine loan coordinator for a personal appointment. Our goal is to ensure your readiness to meet your repayment obligations successfully and to counsel you on your options. Failure to complete the Exit Counseling will result in restriction to access of student transcripts until counseling is completed.

FEDERAL PERKINS LOAN

The Perkins Loan is a federal loan administered by Benedictine College. It is in the student's name and it must be repaid. Eligibility is determined by the results from the FAFSA. This loan is a need-based loan and has a fixed interest rate of 5%. Interest does not accrue while enrolled at least half-time and repayment does not begin until nine months after you have graduated, dropped below half-time status, or withdrawn from Benedictine College. Perkins Loan Entrance Counseling and the Perkins Master Promissory Note are required for disbursement of these funds. Any awards that a student is eligible for will be listed in your Financial Aid Award Package (based on FAFSA).

Federal Direct Student loans are federal loans that are in the student's name and may be either subsidized or unsubsidized. A subsidized student loan is awarded on the basis of financial need which is determined from the FAFSA. The interest rate period will be established by the US Dept. of Education prior to July 1 each year applicable to the upcoming academic period. The federal government pays the interest accruing on the loan while the student is enrolled a least half-time in a degree seeking program of study. Repayment does not begin until six months after you have graduated, dropped below half-time status, or withdrawn from Benedictine College. The loan is not credit based, nor does it require a co-signer. Any awards that a student is eligible for will be listed in your Financial Aid Award Package (based on FAFSA). In order to secure these funds, follow the instructions in the Financial Aid Award Package.

An unsubsidized student loan is not need-based. The interest rate will be established by the US Dept. of Education prior to July 1 each year applicable to the upcoming academic period. The government does not pay the interest while the student is in school. The borrower is charged interest from the time the loan is disbursed (from the lender to the school) until it is paid in full. The student can choose to pay the interest while in school or defer the interest and have it added to the principal balance. As with the subsidized loan, repayment on the principal does not begin until six months after you have graduated, dropped below half-time status, or withdrawn from Benedictine College.

Stafford loans have maximum annual limits. The following is a list of the maximum amounts that may be borrowed:

Freshmen (0-27 hours) - $5500

Sophomores (28-59 hours) - $6500

Juniors (60-91 hours) - $7500

Seniors (92+hours) - $7500

Independent students and students whose parents were denied on the PLUS loan may be eligible for an additional unsubsidized student loan. Contact the Financial Aid Office for more details.

Applicable loan origination fees will be deducted from the gross loan amount at the time of applying funding to the student’s billing account. Applicable fee rates will be established by the US Dept. of Ed.

There are two requirements that have to be complete for these loan funds to be disbursed. The requirements are the Entrance Counseling and the Master Promissory Note. These can be completed at www.StudentLoans.gov. These are only to be completed once and are good for 10 years.

FEDERAL DIRECT PARENT PLUS LOAN

This is a loan that is available to the parents of a dependent student. The loan is a credit-based loan in the parent's name and the repayment is the parent's responsibility. The interest rate is fixed at 7.9%. Parents may borrow up to the cost of attendance of their dependent's education, less any amount of financial aid received. Eligibility is based on credit history. The loans disburse 50% of the total in the fall semester and 50% of the total in the spring semester. Prior to disbursement, the lender withholds 2.5% from the borrowed amount for loan origination fees. Repayment begins 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. Repayment is made over a 10 year period. The payments can be deferred while the student is enrolled in school.

There are two forms that have to be completed for the disbursement of these loan funds. A pre-approval (PLUS Request Form) and a PLUS Master Promissory Note must be completed. These can be accessed at www.StudentLoans.gov. Information about these two forms will be included in your Financial Aid Award Package.

ALTERNATIVE (PRIVATE) LOAN

The Alternative Loan is an alternative to the Parent PLUS loan. Alternative loans are issued in the student's name and payments do not begin until six months after the student has graduated, dropped below half-time status, or withdrawn from Benedictine College. In most cases, if the student has not established a two-year credit history, a co-signer will be required. Alternative Loans' interest rates are based upon a student's (or co-signer’s) credit history. The interest rate is usually variable and the fees could be as low as 0%. An Alternative Loan Application will need to be completed. Benedictine College does not require student to use specific lenders, nor does it recommend any lender in favor of any other lenders, regardless of their inclusion in the College’s lender list. Students are free to select any lender for Alternative Loans. Check out the list of available lenders.

Parents and students should pursue all the financial aid including grants, scholarships, work study, Federal Stafford loans, Federal Perkins loans, and Federal Parent (PLUS) loans before pursuing a private/alternative loan as the terms of the private/alternative loan may not be as favorable when compared to the Federal loan programs. Student and parent borrowers are encouraged to research the private/alternative market to secure the best loan available for their needs. Benedictine College will not deny, refuse, or delay the loan application or loan certification process in the event a student/parent borrower wishes to secure a private/alternative loan from another lender(s). Before you borrow, learn more about private student loans.